During our first week of training, a line from one of the presenters really stood out to me: “We like to pride ourselves on being like a teaching hospital.” As soon as I heard this line I envisioned the six of us articling students were like characters from Grey’s Anatomy on the first day of their surgical residency, but instead of cutting people open, we got to draft statements of defence.
My mentor emailed,
"I have an idea..."
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One of the most mysterious aspects of the articling program is the role of the “Articling Principal.” The law society requires that one lawyer act as a principal to every articling student. On the first day of articling, we were each assigned a lawyer within the firm who would act as a mentor to us throughout the year. During my initial meeting with my principal, we discussed some of the challenges that I was anticipating, and he gave me advice on how to navigate my way around the firm. After this initial meeting, I knew that this was a relationship that would prove valuable to me over the course of my articling term. My principal and I have met on several occasions now, mainly as a “check-in” system to talk about my experience and some of the challenges that I face. He has offered me support and guidance on how to deal with these issues and has been diligent in following up with “how are things going?” emails.
His most recent email stated, “I have an idea.” That idea turned out to be giving me my “own” file, meaning that I would be responsible for the progress of the file (which he would oversee, of course). Throughout this process, I have been challenged to think for myself, come up with answers in short periods of time, and really become well acquainted with managing files properly and how to work in the client’s best interest.
Some may rank mentorship low on their list of priorities when looking for an articling position, however, through the determination of my articling principal to educate me and ensure that I am getting the most out of my articling experience, I can wholeheartedly say good mentorship is invaluable.
Rachael S.
